A Solitary Summer Night
by raging hobo
Summary: It's too hot to sleep and Naruto starts thinking about the day, especially a certain ivoryeyed girl. What will happen when that girl appears in his doorway?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Something a little different from my other fic. More subdued I think. I needed to use an idea that flows so I could get back into the habit of writing. Naruto and Hinata are about twenty in this by the way. I hope you all like it.

A Solitary Summer Night

So here I am again. Lying on my bed with my arms crossed behind my head. My sheets are draped barely over my body just above my legs. It's way too hot to cover up any more than that. I really need to get that air conditioner fixed. I've just been too busy lately. Oh well, it's not like I was going to be able to sleep anyways.

I've always hated nights like this. It seems like I'm trapped in a perpetual state of half sleep. I'm tired, sure, but I can't shake the thoughts from my head. No matter how still my body is, if my mind is still doing laps there's just nothing I can do to fall asleep. Tsunade keeps offering to prescribe me some pills to help knock me out but I always refuse. People are always telling me that I don't think enough so maybe it's best if I have this time. It's a good thing I have the Kyuubi. If he wasn't around to give me energy there's no way I could function on as little sleep as I get.

Stupid fox

Even with him, there are days when the rings beneath my eyes are dark enough to seem almost like shadows. My friends keep asking me if I'm all right. Telling me that I don't look so good. I don't like worrying them. Maybe I should take Tsunade up on her suggestion.

A soft sigh slips between my lips as a memory of a conversation gone wrong makes its way through my brain. How could I have said that to her? I know how fragile Hinata's confidence is. She was trying her best and all I could think about was getting it over with so I could eat. "Is that all you've got?" Honestly, I never think right when I'm hungry. Still, that's no excuse. It's not like she's weak or anything. I just forget that she's only human sometimes, and I'm, well, not.

Stupid fox

I'll have to apologize to her tomorrow. I gently touch a spot on my chest where she had landed a particularly hard hit. It was still a little tender. That type of blow would have been enough to at least knock out just about anyone else but I plowed through it like nothing had happened. I guess that's why she always asks to spar with me. No matter what she does it's almost impossible for her to hurt me.

Stupid fox

"Damn it's hot" I say aloud to no one. Every time I move I feel beads of sweat spring up all over my body. This sucks. One would think that if you have a being of fire taking up residence in your soul that you might be a little more resistant to heat. Apparently not. Maybe I should sleep in the tub. Just fill it with cold water and go to sleep. Of course, given my luck I would probably slip down into the water when I fell asleep and drown. I guess I'll just have to wait until I pass out from exhaustion. It's a good thing I have nothing to do tomorrow.

I hear a click and a creak as someone undoes the lock and opens the door to my apartment. I should be on guard now, but I'm not. I know who it is. Only one person has the key and I have no reason whatsoever to be afraid of her. Of all the people in this world she's the only one I'm convinced would never do anything to hurt me.

A small silhouette appears in the doorway to my room. Silently she leans against the doorjamb with her head hanging low, causing her cobalt blue hair to drape in front of her face. Her arms are crossed shyly in front of her with her hands gripping her elbows. She sniffs softly. A barely audible noise that tells me exactly why she's here. She's been crying. It happens every now and then and she always ends up coming here. I don't mind.

I don't say a word as I move over in my bed to give her room. Slowly she makes her way over and slides in next to me. A slender arm wraps around my side and she pulls herself closer to me. Funny. It should be way too hot to have another person touching me right now. Somehow though, I almost feel cooler with her by me. Almost like she's some sort of zephyr sent to cure me of the heat.

Lazily I place my arm around her shoulders and draw her tight up against me. "I'm sorry" I whisper into her hair, "I didn't mean to say it like that." She just shakes her head and tells me that it's ok. She's too good to me. Is it any wonder why I love her?

I want to ask her why she was crying, but I don't. I already know anyway. She was lonely. No matter how strong her body is she still has a weak heart. A product of all the abuse her father heaped on her as a child I suspect. The bastard had no idea what he was doing to his little girl. As much as I hate to admit it, it's not really his fault. All Hyuugas are raised like that. It's part of their family history, a tradition. Stupid. Just another thing for me to change when I become Hokage.

None of that matters right now. The only thing that I care about at the moment is the lonesome little girl that's wrapped up in my arms. I squeeze her tightly and kiss the top of her head. I want her to know that as long as I'm around she'll never be alone again.

A/N: This was actually inspired by a bit of a song I wrote (That was inspired by an image in my head.) If you're interested in seeing it, here it is.

"Do you mind if I come over?"

Her voice asks over the phone

"If it's all the same to you,

I'd rather not sleep alone."

"All I need is a good friend,

to confide in how I feel."

"I need to feel warm arms around me,

To remind me that I'm real."

She swears I might be her only friend

The only one who's always been there

She swears I might be her only friend

And in the end she knows I'll still care


	2. Chapter 2

Well, this was a bad idea. Just like every other time I had it I suppose. I bend backwards and the tip of the blade narrowly misses my chest. Yup, definitely a bad idea. I slip another stroke and roll over the blade as it's swung back towards my ankles. I finish the roll up to my feet and stand before my opponent slightly winded.

The smirk on his face as he looks back at me is infuriating. Cocky bastard. I grumble under my breath as I glare at him. His smirk grows when he sees my frustration.

In a moment he's upon me again. I throw up my sword to block and the clash of steel on steel fills the room with a harsh ringing. The noise echoes in my eardrums and I grimace. I brace my left hand on the flat of the blade to bring his attack to a compete stop, before grunting with effort and pushing up to throw him off. It's my turn to smirk as he stumbles backward. The little bastard may be fast, but he's no match for me when it comes to raw power.

After three quick backward hops he's on the other side of the room from me. He leans forward and holds his katana off on a downward angle. It's pretty obvious he's getting ready to take this more seriously now. It's about time. It's not like I asked him to teach me how to use a sword properly for my health. Well, I guess it is actually. The better you know how to use a weapon the better you know how to defend against it, and Sasuke's the best kenjutsu user I know. Who better to have try to cut me to ribbons on a regular basis?

I lift my sword over my head, slightly off to the side and ready myself for that black-eyed bastard's attack. We stand completely motionless as we stare each other down. I blink. By the time my eyes are back open he's already halfway across the room. Shit. I bring my katana down in a powerful stroke intended to use my size and strength to it's fullest advantage.

I throw my full body weight behind the attack and wait for him to block the attack or dodge to the side. He does neither. Double shit. With a motion that made it seem like he was made of water he catches my sword on the flat of his blade and with a slight nudge turns my attack to the ground. He catches my eye for a brief moment before moving to slide his blade up my own, leaving me completely unable to defend myself with it.

He hurtles backward as the back of my fist connects with his cheek. He regains his footing and wipes away the trickle of blood that escapes the corner of his lip with a swipe of his thumb. With a nod in my direction the sparring session is over and he walks out the door.

Left alone in the spacious dojo area with the sunlight pouring in through the open windows my thoughts are torn back to his words from earlier. He had spoken quietly, with a calmness that belied the underlying emotion. He wanted to know why I hadn't told Hinata how I felt yet. Of course I argued that it was so obvious that it didn't need to be said, but he just shook his head.

Maybe I really should tell her.

-------------------------------------------------

Holy crap it's been too long since I've written. I'm done making promises about how long a story is going to be. This is just for fun and I hope people enjoy it. Really, I think this is just a response to the absolute garbage I've seen flowing out of FF net recently. Has everyone with a basic understanding of the English language given up competely on writing? One thing, specifically, that I need to complain about is how some people seem to think that putting Sasuke: "Poorly written dialogue"  
Naruto: "Even worse dialogue"  
Is acceptable. You're not writing a play here so that's not just going to cut it. Don't try to use creative license to forgo actually putting together a proper sentence. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to claim I'm some superb/godly/sexy writer. I'm sure the many grammatical errors that are no doubt present in this chapter alone will attest to my mediocrity. But, I am competent, and I expect others that intend to post their work to at least try to not suck.  
End rant.  
If you think I'm an asshole after that, you're right.

As usual, read, review, and tell me how much I suck.  
RH

The only thing about me that matters is how I make you feel.  
And when you smile back at me I want to know that it's for real.  
So promise me you'll be coming back so I can let you go,  
And I'll promise you to tell everything about me you'd ever want to know. 


	3. Chapter 3

The dull, steady thrumming of my heart in my ears is distracting at best. Then again, perhaps it's best to have something to help block out the outside right now. This is going to take more focus than I normally have. I just had to go and listen to that bastard Sasuke, didn't I?

My feet raise small clouds of dust as I plod across town. It's been hot lately and there hasn't been any rain for at least a week, so the dirt paths that wind through Konoha are dry as a bone. The sun beats down on my neck and back. The warmth is soothing, but I can feel a thin sheen of sweat starting to form. I should probably hurry or at least stick to the shade. It won't do to show my face to her all filthy. Not this time.

Several scenarios of how this could all go run through my head. I'm pretty sure I screw up massively in every single one of them. I suck at planning ahead. Why shouldn't I just wing it? It's worked for me until now. Until now. I guess that's really the key phrase here. I can't afford to screw this up. This isn't life and death, it's more important than that.

I shake my head to clear it. It works for barely an insant. An itch forms on my nose where my hair brushes against it. It might be time for a haircut. Then again, she says she likes my hair long. I guess I can ask her about it later. Maybe, who knows? If this doesn't work out it won't really matter anyways.

I don't know why everyone thinks it's so important that I do this. It's not like I don't want to tell her or something. I just haven't. Simple as that. I mean, I've tried before, but I always seem to fumble the words and end up just making a fool of myself to cover it up. Well, that's how I am I guess. I'm sure she understands without me having to say anything. She has to. I can't risk it though.

Almost halfway there and I stop at Ino's flower shop. She doesn't ask any questions, just smiles knowingly as I pick out a small boquet of orchids and continue on my way. I'm pretty sure she overcharged me. I grumble, but I can't help but smile. The whole thing is just so like her. Besides, I'll get her back later.

With a start I realize that I had my nose buried in the bouquet. I can't help it, the smell reminds me of her. I adjust my position and cradle them loosely in one arm as I keep walking, mindful to keep from breaking the fragile stems.

I'm not paying the slightest bit of attention to where I'm walking, but somehow I manage not to run into anything, though I probably made a wrong turn or two. I can't really be sure on that. At the very least I'm on the right path now, the road narrowing as I approach the edge of the village and enter the line of trees.

I walk slowly through the wooded corridor. The sound of muffled impacts gradually makes its' way to my ears. I'm almost there now. The icy grip of terror tightens on my heart. I steel myself and keep moving forward. No backing down now. Got to tough it out.

My feet lead me out of the trees and into the small clearing of one of the village's many training areas. I'm momentarily captivated by a whirl of motion and chakra as the slight figure before me dances and strikes. Her open palm connects with the wooden post and splinters fly from the opposite side. She pulls back to strike again, revealing the log to be completely undamaged on the spot she hit. Just as she's about to land her second blow she stops and turns to look at me.

I'm immediately halted right in my tracks, unable to bring myself to move under the calm warmth of her gaze. This isn't good. I had expected to be at least halfway across the clearing before she noticed me. This is too far away. I don't know if I can do this. I'm.... I'm thinking too much.

She cocks her head to the side quizzically as she looks at me, clearly wondering why I stopped. This isn't like me. Normally I'd already be right on top of her, picking her up in my arms and swinging her around like an excited child with a puppy. She calls out and starts to walk toward me.

My hands tremble as she approaches. When did I become such a wimp? There's nothing to be scared of. At least that's what I keep telling myself. What's the worst that could happen? I don't even want to think about that. Keep it together now. You can do this. No problem. One step forward.

A moment later and I'm face to face with her, barely a foot apart. Her hands are clasped behind her back and she leans forward cutely. She issues forth a bright and cheery greeting, but she's obviously confused by my odd behavior. After way too long of a wait I return her greeting.

Now she's asking me if something's wrong and reaching out a hand to touch me. I shake my head and hold the flowers out to her, almost defensively and she takes them with a smile. I guess it's now or never. I just hope I can get this out.

"I need to tell you something." I barely manage to choke out.

Her smile fades into a soft frown and my heart sinks. I pause for another moment to gather my courage. It's not really helping, especially not with how she's looking at me. She looks so small, so unsure. I scream at myself in my head to just get it over with. So I do.

"You see... umm... the thing is...that....well...I....I love you."

Done. Now I just have to wait. Not too long I hope. I can't bring myself to breathe until she answers.

She looks up at me with those eyes of hers. Those big, beautiful, warm as a summer day eyes of hers. Even still, her expression is unreadable. What on earth is she thinking? What's going on? The flowers slip to the ground at her side and she takes a step forward, her hands coming to rest on either side of her head as she lays her cheek against my chest.

"I love you too." she whispers almost inaudibly.

My arms are wrapped tightly around her before I even realize what's happening and I'm feathering kisses into her silky cobalt hair. She nuzzles her face tighter into my chest and clutches at the cotton of my shirt. Everything is ok now. Everything is good, great, best. I have no idea why I waited so long. No idea at all. It doesn't matter. No, it doesn't matter one bit. Nothing matters but this. This is everything.

Once more I whisper it with all of my strength "I love you."

Another chapter completed. I like this one a bit more than the previous one, even though I enjoy combat. I think this chapter does a better job of capturing the charm I found in the first chapter. Hopefully, you all agree with me. Well, I request that you let me know what you think, even if it's simply to rant about my lack of grammatical prowess. Thank you all

RH

I'm welcoming the passing of every second  
I watch the clock to while away the hours  
This time holds no meaning without you  
No point for a life spent in ivory towers  
The merest mention is enough to drive me crazy  
A harsh whisper leaves my mind undone  
In essence I'm exactly what I am not  
The truth is that you are my only one


End file.
